


Blush

by Fire_Bear



Series: FrUK Week 2016 [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Blushing, Childhood Friends, Children, Day 1, First Kiss, Fluff, FrUK Week 2016, Friends to Lovers, High School, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-23 01:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7460682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they were little, Francis and Arthur kissed each other to see what was so good about it. Disappointed, they had to wait till they were older to find the pleasure in it...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blush

**Author's Note:**

> Look! Another week of drabbles/one-shots. They’re supposed to be fluffy. I will undoubtedly stray into comedy and possibly into angst. But, hey, whatcha gonna do?
> 
> In this one, please note that the English Francis uses in the first part of this is deliberately incorrect. As is Arthur’s disastrous French. Any French Francis uses and is incorrect is my fault for using Google Translate and then doctoring it to look a little better/more casual/something. Desolé. ^^”
> 
> (Also, I made up the climbing frame - not sure it exists but, eh.)

“Why do grown-ups like kissing?” Arthur asked Francis, probably because he was older and should know more than the seven-year-old.

Being eight, Francis did think he knew more than Arthur. But this wasn't something to which he was aware of the answer. The two of them were sitting on a bench in le Jardin de Luxembourg, watching a couple embracing. They kept kissing, sometimes for ages, sometimes just a quick brush of lips against lips. Nearby, their parents chatted to yet another couple who they had bumped into whilst walking through the garden. The unknown woman had a large belly and the Kirklands and Bonnefoys kept gesturing at it.

“I don' know,” Francis told the English boy, stumbling over his words a little. Then again, it was better than Arthur's French.

“Really?” said Arthur, grinning smugly. “I thought you knew _everything_.”

“Tais-toi,” Francis grumbled, pouting a little. He looked away from his 'holiday friend' to stare at the kissing couple, wondering the same thing as Arthur.

Francis had met Arthur a couple of years before when Arthur's parents had visited Paris on holiday. They had bumped into Francis's parents when looking for somewhere for Arthur to go to the toilet and, after a brief conversation, they had hit it off. Francis found himself being dragged around Paris that year so his family could show the English one around. Apparently, their parents had kept in contact and were good friends so when they returned to Paris for another holiday, they decided to live with the Bonnefoys.

“Mummy and Daddy kiss all the time,” Arthur told Francis, succeeding in drawing Francis's attention back to the boy. He was a little shorter than Francis so he was swinging his legs to relieve his boredom. Instead of looking at Francis, he stared at the ground, pouting a little, obviously disappointed that they hadn't reached the park they'd been promised. “And they laugh when I ask 'em about it.”

“Mère et Père kiss as well. I've not asked.”

Turning to Francis, bringing his legs up to hug them, Arthur opened his mouth to say something. Instead, his name was called by his father. “Put your feet down!” he exclaimed. “You'll get the bench dirty! Look, why don't you two kids go to the park. It's not far. Francis, you have pockets, yes?”

Looking to his parents, Francis waited till Mr. Kirkland's words were fully translated by his mother before answering. Although he was quite good at English, the Kirklands sometimes spoke too fast for him to understand the meaning. “Oui,” he responded.

“Then here's some money for ice cream, if you want some later,” Mr. Kirkland said, handing over the notes. Beside him, Arthur pouted, obviously upset that his father trusted Francis more than him. Laughing, Mr. Kirkland ruffled Arthur's hair and said, “Don't be like that, Wart. You don't have pockets in your shorts.”

At that, Arthur instantly patted the green pocket on his chest. “I've got one 'ere!” he cried.

Laughing again, Mr. Kirkland merely ruffled Arthur's hair again before lifting him from the bench and gently pushing him in the direction of the distant park. “Go on, have some fun!”

“Come on, Art!” Francis added, jumping off the bench by himself and running off, sure that the boy would follow him. Sure enough, there was a shout behind him and the sound of hurried footsteps. They raced all the way to the fence which separated the play area from the rest of the park and Francis cheered when he won. Without stopping, Francis ran all the way to the climbing frame and began to pull himself up, aiming for the platform at the top where he could declare himself king. Beneath him, Arthur panted and grunted as he followed, the bars further apart for his smaller arms and legs. Francis supposed Arthur could be his prince if he got to the top, too.

When they finally both reached the top and after they had crowned each other, Prince Arthur pointed through the bars of the small fence which stopped them falling from the top. “Look! Those people're kissing too! And they're _really_ old!”

Following his finger, King Francis spotted an old man and woman sitting on a bench just outside the park. They were just pulling back from each other and both of them held hands as they returned their attention to their grandchildren who rushed up to them. King Francis folded his arms against the fence. “Mm. I... pense... Euh. What is so great about kissing?”

“My cousins do it with their friends a lot. They say to wait till I'm older.”

“You mean we cannot find out now?” asked King Francis.

“How can we find out now?”

“We could do it,” King Francis said, smiling widely at figuring out a solution to their dilemma.

“Really? Are we allowed to? Isn't it a grown-up thing?” asked Prince Arthur, looking worried.

“Nothing... Kissing is not bad. Nobody can see us.” King Francis turned to face Prince Arthur head on and the prince did the same. Taking hold of Prince Arthur's shoulders, King Francis leaned forward. Prince Arthur stayed still while King Francis pressed his lips to his. Then they both stood back and stared at each other in bafflement.

“What's so great about that?” Prince Arthur demanded, obviously none the wiser than he had been a few minutes ago.

King Francis shrugged. “Let's go to... les balançoires.” He pointed towards the swings and Arthur nodded.

“Lay balance wo-ar,” Prince Arthur repeated.

Wincing, King Francis turned to clamber down, keeping an eye on his prince to make sure he didn't fall. At some point, he thought as he felt below him for the next bar down, he was going to have to teach Arthur how to speak French better. Then again, maybe that, like kissing, was something to leave for when he was older...

* * *

“ _Why_?” whined Francis, flopping face-down on Arthur's bed.

When Francis glanced up, Arthur hadn't reacted; he was still tapping at his calculator with one hand and fiddling with his pencil with the other. “I've told you numerous time,” he said, not bothering to turn to face the Frenchman. “I'm studying. Unlike you, I actually have exams this week, you know.”

“But you're ignoring me!” Francis exclaimed, waving a hand in the air. Then he used that hand to push himself onto his side, his other arm holding his head up as he watched Arthur's hunched back.

“I didn't ask you to come! Besides, you've got your own studying to do.”

“Euh. You are no fun.”

Francis sighed and sat up, disappointed that his boyfriend wouldn't spend any time with him when they had so little of it left: after the summer, Francis would be going to university back in France. It had been his plan ever since his parents had moved him to England for their work. Fate had been the only reason Francis had ended up in Arthur's high school after not seeing the boy for years. Unfortunately, it had taken them both too long to realise that their cycle of friendship to falling out and back again was actually them resisting their deeper feelings. Francis had only asked Arthur out a week ago so he supposed that he couldn't expect more from Arthur at the moment. Poor thing was probably far too stressed, especially with his first exam being Maths.

Thinking of Arthur's tired and strained appearance during his mock exams, Francis decided to force his boyfriend to have a break. For his own good, of course. “ _Please_ , Arthur. Come sit with me, just for a little while.”

“ _No_ , Franny,” snapped Arthur. “I'm busy.” He underlined his final answer and then reached for the past paper answer booklet.

“ _Wart_ ,” said Francis, irritated that Arthur had chosen to use his hated nickname. “You need a break. You've been at that all day, haven't you?”

“Unlike some of us,” Arthur growled, “I actually care about my grades. I don't have an unconditional for uni.”

“Art, please take a break. I want to see your face at least once today.”

That caused Arthur to still, pencil poised beside one of his calculations. He turned his head to look at Francis over his shoulder who smiled at the glimpse of his boyfriend's profile. It was especially lovely with the hint of a blush that he could see. “Satisfied?” Arthur grumbled.

“Non,” Francis replied with a pout.

Arthur sighed. “What would make you happy enough to leave me alone till after the exams?”

“Cinq minutes de ton temps.”

Putting down his pencil and the answer sheet, Arthur turned so he could see Francis better, his arm draped over the back of his chair. “D'accord. Si cela vous serez taire.”

At that, Francis grinned and sat upright, gazing at Arthur's face. “Merci!”

“Yes, yes. You're not using your five minutes wisely, you know.”

“Well, may I ask you for something else?” Francis asked, his heart beginning to beat faster at his own thoughts.

“Another one? Someone's being a bit selfish, aren't they?”

“Hardly. We've been going out for a week and we haven't done this. I was so looking forward to it when I confessed, too, but you were too embarrassed to do much.”

Arthur recoiled, eyes widening in horror. “Fran!” he cried. “It's only been a week! I-I'm not going to... to-!” He gestured at the bed and squirmed on his chair.

Laughing, Francis shook his head. “Non, non, mon amour. I only want a kiss.”

“A-?” Arthur's eyes widened even further and his blush returned, painting his cheeks a vivid red. Francis couldn't help but smile at that, fondly watching Arthur's panic at the request. “A kiss? I-I don't think I'm ready for that.” With that, Arthur turned his back on Francis, grabbing at his pencil. Instead, he knocked it off his desk and it flew across the room to land at Francis's feet. He dutifully picked it up as Arthur chased it and handed it to him as he bent over. They stared at each other, Arthur's face becoming even redder.

“Not ready? Look at all those books – you've been fantasising about this for ages, Art. Why don't you want to kiss me?”

Straightening, Arthur shook his head and waved his pencil. “It's not that I don't... It's not... I, er...”

Watching Arthur's embarrassment increase, Francis wondered at how the little, fearless boy, his one-time prince, could have such a reaction to something he had done before, albeit with a little more passion this time around. Then realisation dawned and he chuckled. Before Arthur could get angry at his laughter, Francis reached out and tugged at Arthur's top in an effort to encourage him to sit next to him. Hesitantly, reluctantly, Arthur shuffled over and dropped onto the bed.

“Are you embarrassed because this is your first kiss as part of a couple?” he asked. Arthur made a sound of protest. “Or is it because I already stole your first kiss?”

“Ah!” Arthur cried, surprised and mortified. “Th-That doesn't count! We were kids! We- That-!”

“Have you been stressing about this for the last week?” Francis frowned at him when Arthur turned his head away. “And on top of your exams... Why didn't you tell me?”

“What do you expect me to say?” Arthur snapped. “I don't want to see you for a month while I deal with exams and accept the whole... boyfriend... thing?”

“Ah, I'm sorry, Art. I have horrible timing.”

“Too right you do,” Arthur grumbled. He sighed and suddenly slumped against Francis. “I couldn't sleep right the past week. And you know how much I hate numbers and that's the first exam.”

“It sounded like you were getting most of them right.”

“Yeah, well...” Arthur shrugged a shoulder.

Pulling away a little, Francis turned so he could see Arthur better. The Brit blinked up at him, a questioning look on his face. Francis only smiled and reached up to cup Arthur's cheek. The blush returned but, this time, it was accompanied with a shy smile. “May I?” Francis asked, gazing into his boyfriend's pretty eyes.

“I suppose so...” Arthur agreed, glancing away before looking back. “I... I don't think I'll be very good at it, though, considering.”

“Don't worry about it,” Francis told him. “I'm sure you'll be as amazing as ever, cher.” With that, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Arthur's. He waited until Arthur was responding to tilt his head and deepen the kiss, coaxing Arthur to do the same. Arthur was hesitant but eager and it endeared him to Francis even more. Wrapping his arms around Arthur, he pulled him closer as they kissed, almost pulling Arthur onto his lap. At that, Arthur made a noise of protest and began to pull away. “Non,” Francis breathed, feeling a little dazed. He hadn't wanted the kiss to end so he tried to kiss him again, lips brushing Arthur's till he managed to push Francis away with a hand on his chest.

“ _Stop_ ,” he said, panting. “Idiot. I can't breathe...” Arthur looked up, eyes darker than normal and his blush such a deep red that Francis was put in mind of roses and love. Blushing himself, he leaned away to give Arthur room and hide his own embarrassment.

“Desolé,” he murmured. “I couldn't help myself.”

“Mm.” There was a brief silence before Arthur spoke up again. “Was I... any good?”

With a fond smile, Francis turned back to Arthur. “More than just good, Art. Would you like to do it again?”

Arthur glanced over his shoulder at his desk and Francis's heart sank. Was he about to be rejected in favour of numbers and complicated equations? “Well... I _have_ been getting them all right... And, if you stick around, you could help me out since you did this exam last year...” He turned back to Francis. “I think a half hour break would be fine.”

“Half hour? What _do_ you think we'll be doing?” Francis teased.

Rolling his eyes, Arthur grabbed Francis's school tie and pulled him down into another kiss, this time tangling his fingers in Francis's long hair. Francis eagerly responded by pulling Arthur closer to him by his waist. He was fairly sure that both of them were blushing now but, being able to show his affection to Arthur, Francis was content.


End file.
